Recently, Bella Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, was arrested in Georgia and Charlotte May Lee, from Coulsdon in London, allegedly had a synthetic strain of cannabis in her luggage in Sri Lanka
Party-going Brits are the “flavour of the month” for drug smuggler gangs, experts warned today.
Insiders say Brits are being recruited on the promise of quick cash and the “perfect package” luxury holiday in the likes of Thailand and Indonesia. However, some are never making it home – or are absent for months – because they are being banged up in hellhole jails for drug smuggling offences.
Bella Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, and Charlotte May Lee, from Coulsdon, south London, are just two of the several Brits to be lured into the murky world recently. However, in a case that has bucked the trend, a 79-year-old William ‘Billy Boy’ Eastment, of Somerset, was arrested in Chile last week after a Mexican gang allegedly promised him £3.7million to smuggle a suitcase of crystal meth from Cancun.
And experts say the variety highlights how age isn’t a barrier for these gangs. One drugs expert said: “They recruit anyone they think looks innocent enough to get through customs, and yet still be dodgy enough to do the deal.”
READ MORE: Bella May Culley ‘received no medical treatment despite her pregnancy’
Airport security – both in the UK and abroad – is now said to be on high alert for suspicious behaviour that staff may associate with drug smuggling. Culley, for instance, was snagged in Georgia after allegedly carrying 14kg of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation from Thailand, where she had been holidaying.
And Lee, a former TUI flight attendant, is locked up in a Sri Lankan prison after police allegedly discovered 46kg of “Kush” – a synthetic strain of cannabis – in her suitcase when she arrived on a flight from Thailand.
A flurry of similar cases have followed including 36-year-old OnlyFans model Clara Wilson, from Nottinghamshire, 21-year-old Cameron Bradford, from Hertfordshire, and 29-year-old Kimberly Hall, from Middlesbrough, who have all been arrested on suspicion of smuggling abroad.
Gary Carroll, an expert witness in drug cases, told Mail Online crooks are targeting young people, particularly women, on social media. Mr Carroll, who spent 14 years in policing before becoming a witness, told the publication: “It’s (social media) created a gateway for suppliers to target and make connections with young, well-travelled, glamorous ladies and girls that are seeking that ability to travel the world and afford to do so.
“Smuggling drugs or packages where they’re not entirely sure of the contents in exchange for free holidays and cash seems quite a lucrative offer.”
Mr Carroll, from Claymore Advisory Group, said he has worked on cases where the “common denominator” is free accommodation, free flights, spending money and some cash with which to come home. He added: “I’ve even seen business class being thrown in there to sweeten the deal. It’s almost the perfect package for those that want to travel, take all the pictures for social media at no expense of their own.”
Dr David Holmes, a leading criminal psychologist, warned Brits to be vigilant on holiday as he said some gang members will brazenly approach tourists on beaches with offers to join the murky underworld.
He said: “It’s anyone they think looks innocent enough to get through customs, and yet still be dodgy enough to do the deal. It may be that Brits are the flavour of the month – and I would imagine it’s quite more likely that Brits are the flavour of the month with airport security.. That’s why they are being picked up more, because they are being picked on more.”
Police in Sri Lanka, meanwhile, insist Lee – arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle 101lb (46kg) the synthetic strain of cannabis into the country – is “in a lot of trouble”. The Brit faces up to 25 years in a tough maximum-security jail in Sri Lanka if she is convicted.